Strike-Slip Basins

12
Tor H. Nilsen and Arthur G. Sylvester

Introduction deformed by younger folds and faults, or have been

Various types of basins, previously grouped together displaced from the basin depocenter by continued
by many workers as Npull-apart basinsw (Burchfiel strike slip. Bounding faults may dip in varying direc-
and Stewart, 1966), commonly form along major tions and be of various types. As a result, definition
strike-slip faults. We refer to these basins herein as of basin size and shape may be a difficult task
strike-slip basins, following Mann et al. ( 1983 ), because bounding faults may dip either more steeply
because Npull-apart basinsw are only one of a range of or more gently with depth, and may merge at depth
basin types that may develop as a result of strike-slip into a single master fault; some basin margins may
faulting. sag rather than be faulted. Some strike-slip basins
Strike-slip basins range in size from small sag ponds
to rhombochasms as wide as 50 km (Fig. 12.1). Basin
length-to-width ratios are typically 4:1, with a range
from 1 to 10:1 (Aydin and Nur, 1982). The surface
dimensions of a strike-slip basin may be measured
either structurally by bounding faults or flexures, or
physiographically by the extent of the area of subsi- 1D- + -ION
64W
dence. The basin margins, however, are commonly
Fig. ll.l Examples of range
of scales of stepover basins.
A) Photograph of sag pond on
central San Andreas fault,
California. B) Fault and bathy-
metric map of Cariaco basin at
right step between dextral
Moron (MFZ) and El Pilar
(EPFZ) fault zones, Venezuelan
borderland (Reproduced with
permission from Mann. et al.,
1983).

425
426 Chapter 12
may also be bounded at their bases by sub-horizontal
faults .
Strike-slip basins are common and have been best
studied along continental transform boundaries, such
as the San Andreas fault of California, where exten-
sive hydrocarbon exploration has yielded abundant
three-dimensional control. The processes leading to
crustal extension and subsidence in strike-slip settings
are generally not as well understood as they are in
other tectonic settings, however, and they may be
extremely complex at different scales. Basins that
develop along and adjacent to strike-slip faults are
generally small and short-lived compared to those
that develop in other plate-tectonic settings. Thermo-
mechanical models for their formation, as well as
structural and stratigraphic models of their evolution,
are generally poorly developed. Each basin must be
examined in its temporal. spatial. and tectonic setting
within a very broad framework of paradigms that
have been collected from strike-slip basins around the
world. New concepts are required to model their
behavior and resolve their sedimentary and tectonic
histories.
Classification of Faults and Basins
The plate-tectonic settings of strike-slip faults and
strike-slip basins, as developed by Woodcock ( 1986)
and Reading ( 1980), respectively, reflect the complex
settings and histories of horizontal slip along plate
margins and provide a framework for fault classifica-
tion (Fig. 12.2). Strike-slip faults may be divided into
transform and transcurrent faults (Table 12.1;
Sylvester, 1988).
The term Mtransform fault" is used for strike-slip
faults that define plate boundaries, penetrate the
crust, and include: ( 1) ridge transforms that displace
spreading ridges; (2) boundary transforms that
accommodate horizontal displacement between
plates; and (3) trench-linked transforms sub-parallel
to trenches in convergent settings.
The term "transcurrent fault" is restricted to
intraplate faults that penetrate only the upper crust
and include: ( 1) indent-linked strike-slip faults in
zones of convergence and tectonic escape; (2) intra-
continental strike-slip faults that are .unrelated to
OIOCIC OCEMIC CRUST
Fig. ll.:Z Plate-tectonic settings of strike-slip faults (Reproduced with
permission from Woodcock. 1986). Diagram is a schematic representa-
tion of India-Asia collision, looking nonheast from southern Indian
Ocean (compare with Fig. 10.5).
indentation and typically separate distinct regional
tectonic domains; (3) tear faults that accommodate
the differential displacement within or at the margin
of an allochthon; and (4) transfer faults connecting
overstepping segments of parallel or en-echelon
strike-slip faults (Allen and Allen, 1990).
We adopt a six-fold classification of strike-slip
basins based on the geometry of bounding faults and
the kinematic setting of the basin (Fig. 12.3):
l. fault-bend basins
2. stepover basins
3. transrotational basins
4. transpressional basins
5. polygenetic basins
6. poly history basins
This classification permits easy recognition of basins
in their initial stages of formation. Either part or all of
a strike-slip basin may undergo stages of growth and
development, however, that could fit into any of
these basin types. As strike-slip basins evolve through
time and space, they may undergo significant transla-
tion along principal strike-slip zones. Changes in their
plate-tectonic framework, even including minor
changes in direction and rate of plate motion, may
radically affect basin structure and history. The basins
are commonly subjected to multiple cycles of subsi-
dence and uplift while being translated laterally (the
"porpoising" effect), and in general. are partly to
wholly uplifted.
Fault-bend basins generally develop at releasing
bends along strike-slip faults (Figs. 12.3, 12.4). Exten-
sion results as one fault block slides past and away

Table 12.1 Classification of strike-slip faults by Sylvester ( 1988), based partly on Woodcock's ( 1986) relation of strike-slip faults to
plate-tectonic setting (see Fig. 12.2)
INIERPLATE
(deep-seated)
TRANSFORM faults
(delimit plates, cut lithosphere, fully accommodate motion
between plates)
Ridge Transform faults*
• Displace segments of oceanic crust having similar spread-
ing vectors
• Present examples: Owen, Romanche, and Charlie Gibbs
fracture zones
Boundary transform faults*
• Join unlike plates which move parallel to the boundary
between the plates
• Present examples: San Andreas fault (California),
Chaman fault (Pakistan), and Alpine fault (New Zealand)
Trench-linked strike-slip faults*
• Accommodate horizontal component of oblique subduc-
tion; cut and may localize arc intrusions and volcanic
rocks; located about 100 km inboard of trench
• Present examples: Semanko fault (Burma), Atacama fault
(Chile), and Median Tectonic Line (Japan)
*See Woodcock ( 1986, p. 20) for additional examples, both ancient and modern, and for their geometric and kinematic characteristics.
from the other. Sharply defined clefts may form at
the mesoscopic scale along releasing fault bends. At
larger and longer scales, the sliding block may sag
into the extended zone. More commonly, parts of
both blocks sag toward the fault to form an elongate
zone of subsidence along the fault bend, referred to
as a lens-shaped basin (Crowell, 1974b) or a "lazy
pull apart" (Mann et al., 1983). How the walls of a
fault-bend basin converge at depth and merge with
the master fault is largely unknown. Fault-bend
basins may also form near restraining bends, where
one of the fault blocks extends differentially as it
slides around the bend, out of the zone of restraint.
Fault-bend basins are strongly asymmetric, have
prominent coarse-grained aprons along their principal
displacement zones, are commonly lens-shaped in
map view, and generally develop in transtensional set-
Strike-Slip Basins 427
INTRAPLATE
(thin-skinned)
TRANSCURRENT faults
(confined to the crust)
Indent-linked strike-slip faults*
• Separate continent-continent blocks which move with
respect to one another because of plate convergence
• Present examples: North Anatolian fault (Thrkey);
Karakorum, Altyn Tagh, and Kunlun fault (Tibet)
Tear faults
• Accommodate differential displacement within a given
allochthon, or between the allochthon and adjacent
structural units (Biddle and Christie-Blick, 1985)
• Present examples: northwest- and northeast-striking
faults in Asiak fold-thrust belt (Canada)
Transfer faults
• Transfer horizontal slip from one segment of a major
strike-slip fault to its overstepping or en -echelon neighbor
• Present examples: Lower Hope Valley and Upper Hurunui
Valley faults between the Hope and Kakapo faults (New
Zealand), and Southern and Northern Diagonal faults
(eastern Sinai)
Intracontinental transform faults
• Separate allochthons of different tectonic styles
• Present example: Garlock fault (California)
tings, subsequently undergoing inversion in transpres-
sional settings. These basins may resemble other rift
basins (see Chapter 3), especially in two-dimensional
seismic-reflection profiles.
Stepover basins (Fig. 12.3B) form between the
ends of two parallel to sub-parallel strike-slip faults
that are not connected (Aydin and Nur, 1985; Schu-
bert, 1986; Sarewitz and Lewis, 1991 ). Because the
zone between two fault segments in en-echelon
arrangement is termed a "stepover," basins that
form as a result of extension between the two faults
are referred to as "stepover basins." The bounding
faults may merge at depth into a single master fault.
At basement level, the extended domain between
the two en-echelon faults generally forms a mesh-
like arrangement of normal and strike-slip faults
that are steep at depth. Stepover basins typically
 428 Chapter 12

f A. FAULT-BEND BASINS

Id

C. TRANSROTATIONAL BASINS

B. STEPOVER BASINS

·N-
!
~
0 Ml 12
l.....L....!
I I I 0 20KM
0 KM 20

'1 Rotation

~ Strike-slip fault
.666 Thrust fault
D. TRANSPESSIONAL BASINS ~ Area experiencing tension
A
I

A T Cross section

A'

Fig. 12.3 Diagrammatic maps of six strike-slip basin types: A) fault-bend map view (left) and cross section (right); E) polygenetic basins (dot pat·
basin (left) with map of La Gonzalez basin, Venezuela (right); B) tern) in regional extension (left) and in regional shonening (right); and
stepover basin (left) with map of pan of Dead Sea rift (right); C) transro· F) polyhistory basins initiated as rift basin.
tational basins (black areas); D) transpressional basins (dot pattern) in

form between left-stepping faults in left slip and
between right-stepping faults in right slip (Fig.
l2.3B).
Stepover basins may be more symmetric than
fault-bend basins, with coarse-grained aprons shed
basinward from all faulted margins. Depocenters may
not lie preferentially adjacent to one of the marginal
faults. Transverse structures may be· ~ommon, seg-
menting the basin into separate subbasins. Continued
transtension may extend and rupture the crust, pro-
ducing magmatic activity, high heat flow, and in
extreme cases, generation of new crust that may be
younger than the overlying sedimentary succession.
The floors of other stepover basins may consist of
gently dipping faults at the basement-cover interface
or deeper in the basement.
 Strike-Slip Basins 429

E. POLYGENETIC BASINS

strike-slip

<== => <==

strike-slip
basins

~-tn5 ,· OV'\ ~~ ...t-&'lil'\~

Regional Sl:lal'teAiRg Regional Extel'lsiel'l

F. POLYHISTORY BASINS

=>
Rift Basin Conversion to
developed under strike-slip basins
regional extension by later right-slip

Pig. 1Z.3 Continued .

Transrotationa/ basins (Ingersoll, 1988b) develop as a
result of continued shear strain that causes the exten-
sion fractures and the blocks between them to rotate
about a subvertical axis in the same direction as the
direction of prindpal shear strain, Clockwise in right
simple shear and counterclockwise in left simple shear
(Fig. 12.3C). The rate and magnitude of rotation
depend on the rate of shear strain. ni.angular gaps or
transrotational basins form among irregularly shaped,
rotated blocks (Fig. 12.5). Detachment faults within
the crust may floor the basins and separate upper
rotated blocks from underlying unrotated blocks. The
upper block may undergo rotation and strike-slip
deformation during and following deposition. Major
amounts of slip along basin-bounding faults are not
necessary.
430 Chapter 12
Fig. ll.4 Small fault-bend basin from Superstition Hills earthquake
zone. Fault strikes away from viewer, from bottom of photograph to
tower on horizon. Axis of basin is about 25' to fault strike. Net right-
lateral strike-slip at this site was 1.5 m (photograph by A. G. Sylvester).
Transpressional basins (Fig. l2.3D) are generally
long and narrow structural depressions, parallel to
regional faults and folds, and are commonly bounded
by underlying thrust faults and flanking strike-slip, or
reverse faults. These basins may be dominated by
axial transport of sediments parallel to structural
depressions that develop in several ways, generally in
response to flexural subsidence. They form next to
uplifted and overthrust fault blocks that dip back into
the principal displacement zone or other strike-slip
faults (Fig. 12.6), typically adjacent to positive
"flower" or "palm tree" structures in zones of trans-
pression along strike-slip faults. Subsidence results
from flexural loading of the marginal crust, forming
mini-foreland basins adjacent to the uplifted blocks.
Fig. ll.5 Idealized diagram of gaps or basins (black areas) among
rotated blocks in a right-simple·shear couple (Reproduced with permis-
sion from Terres and Sylvester, 1981) . Hachures are on overthrust parts
of blocks.
Piggyback basins, forebulges, and related structures
may develop in the transpressive regions. Paired
transpressional basins may form on opposite sides of
transpressive uplifts. With continued strike-slip along
the principal displacement zone, patterns of sedimen-
tation and subsidence can be very complex. Other
transpressive basins may develop in response to syn-
clinal downfolding or paired reverse faulting within
transpressive regions.
Polygenetic basins (Fig. l2 .3E) as defined herein
develop in local regimes of strike slip in generally
convergent or divergent tectonic settings. In rift set-
tings, transfer faults or accommodation zones may
link border faults of normal displacement and bound
small strike-slip basins. In convergent settings, strike-
slip faults and strike-slip basins may be confined to

-,_.l-yf
A The structural patterns that develop along strike-slip
ari,ICI ...
.... . _ fault systems depend on four principal factors
..c;,··-..
;'1'·!:-. .. 'I
). .\\ - -
c
'I"
. ·-
'"
-
---
t . .._ . .J- .
E F
Fig. ll.6 Conceptual diagrams of flower or palm-tree structures in right
simple shear (from Syl~ester. 1988): A) from LoweU (1972, p. 3099); B)
from Sylvester and Smith (1976); C) from Woodcock aqd Fisher (1986); D)
from Bartlett et al. (1981); E) adapted with modifications from Ramsay and
Huber (1987, p. 529); and F) with axial graben from Steel et al. ( 1985).
the upper plate of allochthonous thrust she~ts, yield-
ing a type of piggyback basin. Polygenetic strike-slip
basins are also common in accommodation zones,
where they may be confined to upper structural
plates or hanging walls.
Polyhistory basins (Fig. 12.3F) are those in which
episodes of pure extensional rifting or pure compres-
sional thrusting alternate with episodes of strike slip,
generating complex and commonly multicydic
basins. They can be of almost any size and shape, and
they generally record pulses of subsidence caused by
varying mechanisms. Many "successor basins" in
complex orogenic belts are of this type; they may be
long-lasting, with multiple histories of uplift and sub-
sidence related to shifting tectonic settings. Polyhis-
tory strike-slip basins may also have the characteris-
tics of many of the other types of strike-slip basins,
Strike-Slip Basins 431
but they tend to be even more complicated because
of their varying tectonic framework.
StructuralFra~evvork
Fault Pattern
(Christie-Blick and Biddle, 1985): l) the kinematics
(convergent, divergent, or parallel) of the fault sys-
\1\. '
1' tem; 2) the magnitude of the displacement; 3) the
material properties of the rocks and sedimentary
TA
. ..
D
infills in the deforming zone; and 4) the configuration
of pre-existing structures. These factors may yield a
curviplanar principal displacement zone with sub-
sidiary faults having widely divergent and changing
strikes. Extension occurs at releasing bends (Fig.
l2.3B), and shortening takes place at restraining bends
(Fig. 12.6); thus, basins and uplifts may be ·produced
by curviplanar faults as well as overstepping faults.
Because basins along and adjacent to strike-slip
fault systems may change both gradually and abruptly
through time and space from divergence (transten-
sion) to convergence (transpression), their tectonic
and sedimentary histories may be extraordinarily
complex. In simple strike-slip fault systems, the strike
of the fault relative to the block or plate-motion vec-
tors determines whether displacement along the fault
has a component of transpression or transtension.
The upward branching "flower structures," charac-
teristic in cross sections of strike-slip faults, range
from simple, single-strand features with uniform dips
toward the principal displacement zone to complex,
upward convex, multi-strand faults that dip in vari-
able directions (Harding et al., 1983; Harding, 1985;
Fig. 12.6). In transpressional zones, most faults that
make up "positive flower structures" have the cross-
sectional appearance of reverse faults; in transten-
sional zones, most faults that make up "negative
flower structures" appear to be normal faults (Fig.
12.7). Positive flower structures have an overall
antiformal character with abundant folds as a result
of net shortening, whereas negative flower structures
have an overall synformal character with folds that
result from net extension.
 432 Chapter 12

0.0

1.0

iii
'0
c
0
u
Ql
~
Ql
E
i=
Qi
>
.="'
>
~
2.0 0

3.0

Fig. 12.7 Seismic-reflection image of negative flower structure (Reproduced with permission from D"Onfro and Glagola. 1983). p and D indicate fault names.

Where subparallel to the principal displacement
zone, individual faults may have various dip direc-
tions, dip amounts, senses of displacement, and sepa-
ration of rocks of different ages. Lateral changes from
transpressional to transtensional settings cause grad-
ual to abrupt changes in senses of displacement of
either parts of or all of the flower structure. Because
the overall strike-slip displacements include regional
to local oblique as well as dip-slip d_isplacements,
individual faults must be studied in four dimensions.
Useful criteria for the correct interpretation of posi-
tive and negative fiower structures were described
and discussed by Harding ( 1985, 1990).
Rotation of blocks about vertical to subvertical
axes within strike-slip fault zones may also produce
areas of shortening and extension (e.g., Luyendyk
and Hornafius, 1987). Rotation of large blocks may
result in formation of basins of regional extent. Some
strike-slip basins have subhorizontal detachment sur-
faces that separate structurally higher, rotated crustal

fragments characterized by brittle deformation from
structurally lower crustal units characterized by more
ductile deformation.
Basin Geometry
Strike-slip basins develop by various processes related
to local transtensional and transpressive regimes.
Oversteps and bent fault segments (releasing bends)
commonly yield strike-slip basins that become more
elongate parallel to the principal displacement zone
through time. Some of the parameters that exert con-
trol on the length, width and depth of strike-slip
basins are:
1. the degree of lateral and vertical curvature of
the principal displacement zone and other fault
surfaces
2. the depth to the brittle-ductile transition in the
crust
3. the amount of displacement along the principal
displacement zone and other faults
4. the age of the basin relative to the age of the
principal displacement zone
5. the spacing between the overstepping faults
6. the length that the overstepping faults extend
beyond one another
None of these parameters has been sufficiently quan-
tified, unfortunately, to yield a predictive model that
fits all strike-slip basins.
The type of and depth to basement rocks exert
strong controlling influences on strike-slip-basin
geometry. Where basement rocks are shallow, consist
of massive and rigid plutono-metamorphic rocks, and
are overlain by a thin cover of sedimentary strata,
strike-slip basins are generally sharply defined and
bounded by steeply dipping faults (Ben Avraham,
1985). Where basement consists of thick, easily
deformed sedimentary or layered metamorphic rocks,
overlain by a thick cover of sedimentary strata, strike-
slip basins are generally poorly defined and bounded
by low-angle listric transpressional or transtensional
faults. As an example, the sedimentary cover on the
Bering Shelf is more than 5,000 m thick and the
basement rocks consist of a succession of sedimentary
and layered metamorphic rocks (Worrall, 1991).
Because the sedimentary cover is so thick, the strike-
slip basins are less well-defined at the surface than
Strike·Slip Basins 433
they are at'.depth. Faults do not propagate from the
basement all the way to the surface, and folds die out
upward in the stratigraphic succession. Thus, recogni-
tion of the basin form and genesis requires three-
dimensional definition and analyses at several differ-
ent structural levels.
Most basins in their embryonic stages appear to be
related to either releasing-bend geometries or non-
parallel master faults. The development of basins
along releasing bends of strike-slip faults yields
s-shaped or z-shaped basins that, with continued dis-
placement, form rhomb-shaped basins, locally referred
to as "rhombochasms" (e.g., Mann et al., 1983). With
continued elongation, continental crust may thin and
extend sufficiently to rupture, yielding mantle uplift
and generation of an oceanic spreading ridge, such as
the Cayman trough (Perfit and Heezen, 1978; Rosen-
crantz et a!., 1988). In these types of basins, length is
commonly more than three times greater than width.
At the continental scale, strike-slip basins may
develop between tectonic plates as they diverge in
transtension or converge in transpression. Individual
basins may develop by one or several mechanisms;
because of their scale, the basins may be quite com-
plex and involve diverse mixtures of normal, lateral
and reverse faults. In continental interiors, equally
complex basin types and fault patterns are possible
(e.g., Zolnai, 1991). Basins along intraoceanic trans-
form faults appear to be complex structurally, but
simpler deposi!ionally, as a result of lower sedimenta-
tion rates and less diverse source areas (e.g., Barany
and Karson, 1989).
Extension, Subsidence and Thermal History
The formation of strike-slip basins depends largely
on the orientation of the principal direction of exten-
sion relative to the direction of bulk shear strain, on
the overstepping arrangement of discontinuous and
discrete fault segments, and on the bending geome-
try of the fault. In instantaneous, homogeneous,
bulk simple-shear (Fig. 12.8), the principal direction
of extension is 45° to the mean shear direction. The
brittle manifestations of bulk simple shear in rocks
are extension fractures (designated T), shear frac-
tures (R, R' and P), and faults that are parallel to the
principal displacement zone. The T and R fractures
434 Chapter 12
< ->
Fig. l:Z.8 Geometric relations among associated structures formed in
right simple shear (Reproduced with permission from Sylvester, 1988).
Plan view of Riedel model with orientations of structures formed In
incipient right simple shear along a southeast-striking vertical fault.
Double parallel line represents orientation of extension (T) fractures;
wavy line represents orientation of fold axes. Abbreviations: P. P frac-
tures; Rand R', synthetic and antithetic shears, respectively; PDZ,
principal displacement zone; 0, angle of internal friction. Stubby black
arrows = axis of principal shortening; open arrows = principal axis of
lengthening.
develop commonly in en-echelon arrays with a self
similarity from the scale of micro- and mesoscopic
laboratory experiments, to surficial fault ruptures
with dimensions measurable in meters, to fault zones
from 1 to 2 km wide (Tchalenko, 1970). The devel-
opment of R and T fractures at larger scales is prob-
lematic and depends on the width of the zone of
strike-slip shearing.
Extension may form obliquely across T or R frac-
tures, parallel to the entire shear zone, yielding a sag
within the zone, or between pairs or sets of overstep-
ping R fractures, or as an array of en-echelon, exter-
nal faults (Fig. 12.8). In the latter instance, the sense
of overstepping is opposite to the arrangement of
stepover basins.
Two major strike-slip basin types may be distin-
guished on the basis of mantle involvement (Allen
and Allen, 1990), although basin histories may be dif-
ficult to summarize in simple terms o~ to model effec-
tively because source areas and depocenters migrate
laterally through time: 1) Those in which the mantle
has been involved, that is, Nhot basins;" and 2) those
in which the mantle has not been involved, and are
thus, generally thin-skinned, that is, Ncold basins."
Because strike-slip basins evolve so rapidly and com-
plexly, most writers have had limited success in model-
ing their thermal evolution and subsidence/uplift histo-
ries. In Nhot" basins, uniform-extension models with
modifications for lateral loss of heat have been applied
with some success. In "cold" basins, post-extensional
thermal subsidence is insignificant. Transtension during
formation of some strike-slip basins may yield extraor-
dinarily high rates of subsidence and sedimentation;
equally high rates of uplift and erosion may occur dur-
ing transpression. Many strike-slip basins pass through
multiple phases of subsidence and uplift during the
complex evolution of the basin, and different parts of
the same basin may undergo rapid uplift and rapid sub-
sidence at the same time.
Continental-margin and intracontinental strike-
slip basins may receive huge volumes of sediment,
whereas intraoceanic basins may be starved of sedi-
ment. Because narrow basins cool rapidly by lateral
heat conduction, they appear to undergo rapid early
subsidence to form deep basins with associated sedi-
ment starvation during early stages of development
(Allen and Allen, 1990). As a result of greater lateral
heat loss, however, narrower basins subside at faster
rates and to greater depths than ~o wider basins; this
relation has profound implications for hydrocarbon
generation and trapping in strike-slip basins. As the
initial subsidence rate decreases and pathways are
established for sediment to enter the basin, sedimen-
tation rates will ultimately exceed subsidence rates,
leading to basin filling.
Depositional Framework
The sedimentary fill of strike-slip basins may be
extraordinarily variable and complex, depending on
whether the basins are submarine, sublacustrine,
subaerial, combinations of these, or variable through
time and space. Nilsen and McLaughlin (1985) sum-
marized the stratigraphic and sedimentological
aspects of three well exposed strike-slip basins, the
 Strike-Slip Basins 435

Little Sulphur Creek (McLaughlin and Nilsen, 1982)
and Ridge (Link, 1982) basins of California, and the
Hornelen basin (Steel and Gloppen, 1980) of west-
ern Norway, which are principally of nonmarine ori-
gin and of varying size and character, as follows
(Fig. 12.9):
I. The basins are asymmetric, with their structurally
deepest pans close to and subparallel to the syn-
depositionally most active strike-slip margins.
2. The basins are characterized by diverse depo-
sitional facies, including talus, landslide, allu-
vial-fan, braided- and meandering-fluvial.
deltaic, fan-delta, shoreline, shallow- and
deep-lacustrine, turbidite, chemical-precipi-
tate and algal-limestone deposits.
3. The baSin fill is characterized dominantly by
axial infiiiing, subparallel to the principal dis-
placement zones.
4 . The basin-margin deposits are distinctive.
Small debris-flow-dominated alluvial fans con-
taining coarse sedimentary breccia and con-
glomerate formed along the syndepositionally
active principal displacement zones. Along the
inactive or less active margins are larger
streamflow-dominated alluvial fans and fluvial
deposits that contain finer-grained conglomer-
ate and little breccia (compare with rifts; see
Chapter 3) .
5. The basin fill is characterized by abrupt facies
changes.

HORNELEN RIDGE LITTLE SULPHUR Fig. l:Z.9 Tectonic and

.. CREEK sedimentary comparison of
Hornelen basin. Norway, Ridge
basin, southern California, and
Little Sulphur Creek basin,
northern California (Repro-
duced with permission !rom
Nilsen and McLaughlin, 1985) .
Orientations and scales ol basins
vary considerably but are shown
here at approximately the same
orientation and size lor compar-
ison. length of each basin is
approximately: Hornelen,
50 km; Ridge, 25 km; Sulphur,
10 km. Abbreviations: MF.
Maacama fault; SAF, San
Andreas fault; SGF, San Gabriel
fault.

EXPLANATION

D- Talus, landslide, and debris-
flow-dominated alluvial lana
[;ill.
Streamflow-dominated
alluvial lana
~- Lacustrine deposita
D . Alluvial plain and
fan-delta deposits
_,_
~
LaterJII directions of
movement, a trlk e-allp fault
Normal or high-angle reverse
'if
fault, barbs on downdropped
block
Direction of sediment transport
~ along major atrlke-allp margin
Direction of major sediment
transport along other margin
of basin

rn....,..
. Marine turbldltea

Approximate atrlke
and dip of bedding
•
<rV
,.
Direction of sediment trans-
port In basin-axle region
Thrust fault, triangles
on upthrown block
General trace of dipping
-t-+ Axla and plunge of ayncllne
-- ~ strata
436 Chapter 12
6. The basin fill was derived from multiple basin-
margin sources that changed through time as a
result of continued lateral movement along
basin-margin faults.
7. The basin fill may be petrographically diverse
and complex as a result of the multiple sources
that changed through time and space.
8. The basins contain very thick sedimentary sec-
tions compared to their areas.
9. The basin fill is characterized by high rates of
sedimentation, roughly 2.5-3.0 mm/y.
10. The basins are characterized by depocenters that
migrated in the same directions as source ter-
ranes along the principal displacement zones;
these migration directions are generally oppo-
site to the directions of axial sediment transport.
11. The basin fill is characterized by abundant
synsedimentary slumping and deformation,
possibly in response to basinwide shaking
from earthquakes along basin-margin faults.
Many of these attributes are also characteristic of
other generally elongate and restricted types of basins,
especially rift basins, foreland basins and trench-slope
basins. Strike-slip faults may form significant compo-
nents, in fact, of these three basin types, as well as of
many others. Recognition of strike-slip basins on the
basis of structural criteria is probably a more straight-
forward process than is their recognition on the basis
of stratigraphic and sedimentologic criteria. The most
useful criterion may simply be the recognition of
source areas that have been laterally displaced from
sedimentary successions that contain unique detritus,
especially if coarse-grained; however, even this crite-
rion may be difficult to apply in areas of excellent
exposure because: 1) the uniqueness of the source
area must be proven convincingly; 2) the possible
removal of similar rocks from areas that have under-
gone subsequent uplift and erosion must be convinc-
ingly disproved; 3) the transport paths of the unique
detritus into the basin must be demonstrable; and 4)
fault displacement contemporaneous with basin filling,
rather than postdepositional displacement, must be
demonstrable. These relations have been difficult to
prove in most ancient basins, especially where strike-
slip faults are no longer active or where erosion has
stripped away most of the source area(s) qr basin(s).
The sedimentary fill of many strike-slip basins is, in
general, dominated by repetitive, basinwide, upward
coarsening sequences that cut across all fades bound-
aries. These sequences seem to be tectonically con-
trolled by basin-wide changes in base level that
induce progradation of marginal and axial coarse-
grained fades over axial finer-grained marine, lacus-
trine and related fades. Upward coarsening sequences
are especially well developed in the Uttle Sulphur
Creek basins, Hornelen basin and Ridge basin (Steel
and others, 1977; Steel and Gloppen, 1980; Nilsen
and McLaughlin, 1985). The sequences may result
from periodic major tectonic subsidence of the basin,
uplift of the basin margins, lowering of sea level and
(or) lake level. climatic changes, or combinations of
all these factors.
Recognition of Ancient Strike-Slip Basins
Several factors make recognition of ancient strike-slip
basins difficult:
I. Their depositional and structural histories are
complex.
2. Lateral movements along principal displace-
ment zones and other faults commonly detach,
rotate and translate basins or parts of basins
from their places of origin, making paleogeo-
graphic reconstructions tenuous.
3. Polycyclic episodes of subsidence and uplift
commonly remove major parts of the strati:
graphic and structural record.
4. Most easily studied late Cenozoic strike-slip
basins are nonmarine, resulting in poor intra-
basinal and interbasinal age control and strati-
graphic correlations.
5. Many cross-sectional and plan-view features of
strike-slip basins resemble those of rift basins and
forelands, making their recognition problematic;
detailed three- and four-dimensional studies are
required, and reliance upon two-dimensional
seismic-reflection lines is commonly misleading.
6. Strike-slip faults are commonly reactivated as
normal, reverse, oblique, thrust and more com-
plex zones of faulting; changes in tectonic
framework may yield preservation of only parts
of the original strike-slip basins.

7. Few andent deep-sea strike-slip basins survive
subsequent episodes of subduction intact enough
to provide suitable models for their structural
and depositional evolution.
Reliable criteria for recognition of strike-slip
basins need to be developed from the sedimentary
pattern, stratal succession and filling mechanisms of
the basins. Of the depositional criteria outlined by
Nilsen and McLaughlin ( 1985 ), lateral migration of
depocenters parallel to principal displacement zones
appears to us to be the most useful. Depocenters in
most other basins tend to migrate either trans-
versely away from or toward the principal bounding
faults, or to remain in more or less the same loca-
tion through time. In strike-slip basins, however,
depocenters migrate laterally, parallel to the princi-
pal bounding faults. By this process, basins lengthen
through time without excessive widening, accumu-
late extraordinary thicknesses of fill, and contain
abrupt facies changes and petrographic variations
throughout their history. Polycyclic histories,
changing structural settings, and repeated episodes
of rapid subsidence and uplift characterize long-
lived strike-slip zones, such as many of those along
the San Andreas fault (Crowell, 1974a,b), even
though the basins themselves are commonly short-
lived.
Other useful structural and stratigraphic criteria
for recognizing strike-slip basins include:
I. lateral displacement of related depocenters
2. lateral offset of matched source areas and
deposits
3. presence of coarse-grained alluvial-fan, fan-
delta, submarine/and sublacustrine-apron, and
related deposits along the flanks of basins that
contain principal displacement zones (these
depocenters typically alternate along strike in
rift basins from one flank to the other, reflect-
ing activity of border faults [see Chapter 3])
4. presence of thick, but laterally restricted sedi-
mentary sequences characterized by high sedi-
mentation rates
5. localized uplift and erosion, resulting in uncon-
formities of the same age as thick nearby sedi-
mentary fill
6. abrupt lateral facies variations
Strike-Slip Basins 437
7. presence of strike-slip faults on one or more
sides of the basin
8. development of basinwide upward coarsening
sequences that develop in response to tectoni-
cally induced basin deepening
Examples of Strike-Slip Basins
Fault-Bend Basins
Most modern and andent strike-slip basins are proba-
bly fault-bend basins (Fig. 12.3A) because bends in
strike-slip faults are common. Although modern
Death Valley in California (Burchfiel and Stewart,
1966) is generally regarded as a classic example of a
"pull-apart basin," we consider it and several adjacent
basins as polygenetic basins (Fig. 12.3E), because
they have formed within a large region dominated
prindpally by extension.
Ridge Basin, Southern California
Ridge basin is one of the best studied fault-bend
basins in the world (Fig. 12.10). It developed during
Miocene and Pliocene time adjacent to the right-
lateral San Gabriel fault (Crowell and Link, 1982) .
The basin is 30 to 40 km in length, 6 to 15 km wide,
and about 400 km2 in areal extent; its cumulative fill
of 7,000 to 13,000 m was deposited at a rate of about
3 mm/y (Nilsen and McLaughlin, 1985).
Ridge basin developed as a stretched and sagged
crustal wedge northeast of the San Gabriel fault in
the area where the fault had a curvilinear trace.
Crowell ( 1982a) inferred formation of the basin
along a restraining bend, whereas May et al. ( 199 3)
inferred formation of the basin along a releasing
bend of the San Gabriel fault (Fig 12.11A). The San
Gabriel fault was the prindpal zone of right slip dur-
ing most of the history of the basin, and its curved
trace may have been the reason for uplift of a source
area along the southwestern margin of the basin
that migrated northwestward relative to stable
North America through time, shedding detritus that
formed the Violin Breccia (Crowell, 1974a,b,
1982b). The Clearwater and Liebre fault zones
became active strike-slip faults as the basin widened
and lengthened.
438 Chapter 12

'
0 6 km

' 0 2

EXPLANATION:
QJ
c:
QJ
0

~c ~ Hungry Valley Formation Castaic Formation

QJ
c:
Ill
~ Peace Valley Formation Modelo Formation
c: 0
QJ
0
0
IDa.
.. 0
01'-
-o<!>
"' EJ Ridge Route Formation San Francisquito Formation
a..
a:
.... ·--~{
Violin Breccia Quartz
I 0 diorite}
Basement rocks
a..~
1- Gneiss

Generalized direction of sediment transport

Fig. ll. lO Generalized map (left) and schematic composite stratigraphy Link, 1982). Note that strata are shingled, such that no one vertical sec-
(right) of Ridge basin (Reproduced with permission from Crowell and tion contains all units (see Fig. l2 .l!C) .

Most of the sediment filling the basin was carried by
rivers draining source areas located to the northeast
(Fig. 12.10). The basin depocenter migrated northwest-
ward as the source of the Violin Breccia moved north-
westward along the southwest side of the San Gabriel
fault (Fig. 12.11B); as a result, the Violin Breccia is pro-
gressively younger northwestward, forming shingled
sediment lobes that record northwestward migration of
the depocenter. The Violin Breccia formed as a coarse-
grained apron of sediment deposited transverse to the
basin axis. It consists of fan-shaped bodies that were
moderately deep marine during the early history of the
basin, and were fan deltas and alluvial fans during the
later history of the basin. These fan-delta and alluvial-
fan deposits interfinger basinward with fluvial and
lacustrine strata that record longitudinal basin filling,
southward and southeastward down the axis of the
basin concurrently with northwestward migration of
the depocenter and deposition of the Violin Breccia
(Fig. 12.10). Deep- to shallow-lacustrine fades were
deposited in the depocenter area adjacent to the San
Gabriel fault (Fig. 12.10) (Link and Osborne, 1978).
The total stratigraphic thickness is much greater than
the accumulated thickness at any particular locality in
the basin (Fig. 12.11C). Abundant synsedimentary
deformational structures in the basin fill may record
penecontemporaneous seismicity. When the principal
locus of right slip transferred to the San Andreas fault
about 5 Ma, the basin-margin faults became inactive,
and the basin was folded, uplifted, and transported
northwestward about 220 to 240 km relative to stable
North America.
 Strike-Slip Basins 439

sw NE
EXPLANATION

l".a4 l Breccia

1m Conglomerate

CJ. Sandstone
§- Siltstone

•.
~ Basement Rocks
Shale (Mudstone)

THICKNESS
4500
t
N
17,000
4000
0
i 10,000 3000
2000
5000
1000

·--·
"'O
c•
0
Feet Meters
2 3 Km.
~·
,.
a!.
.~
0 2 Mile•
Horizontal Scale
Fig. ll. IO Continued. I

Fig. ll.ll Diagrammatic sketches of Ridge basin showing: A) its N

(b) X
tectonic origin (after May et al., 1993); B) sedimentation model that

~\ r
gives rise to shingled arrangement of basin-margin strata (Violin Brec-
da)(Reproduced with permission from Crowell, l982b); and C) arrange-
ment of basin axial strata, parallel to depositional trough. Depocenter
remained fixed relative to source area(s) across from San Gabriel fault as
previously deposited strata were rotated and carried relatively south. 6 ~
Upper and center cross sections depict scheme at early and late stages,
whereas lower cross section Is diagrammatic depiction of present pattern
area \~
of exposures after uplift and erosion. Total stratigraphic thickness
(A+B+C .. . ) is much greater than maximum thickness in any single 4
\~
well (from Crowell. 1982a).
\.
3\
~·'ij.

La Gonzalez Basin, Venezuela 1984, 1988). The fault-bend basin is about 40 km

La Gonzalez basin is located along the Bocon6 fault, long and 5 km wide; 7 to 9 km of right-lateral slip
a late Tertiary (probably Pliocene) to recently active and at least 1 km of vertical separation in middle to
right-slip fault that is 500 km long and has a dis- late Pleistocene time caused the basin to form (Fig.
placement of less than 100 km (Schubert, 1980, 12.12). The upper Pliocene to upper Pleistocene
 4
440 Chapter 12

Fig. 12.11 Continued.

N
S EARLY

~ SOURCE AREA

LATE
MAXIMUM IN ANY ONE WELL

Fig. U.U Tectonic framework

of La Gonzalez basin, Venezuela
(Reproduced with permission
'' from Schubert, 1980). a) Index
map. b) Fault-bend basins along
Bocon6- fault trace. c) Geo-
logic sketch map of basin.
I: Precambrian; 2: Paleozoic;
3: Paleozoic-Mesozoic; 4:
sheared fault zone; 5: Quater-
nary alluvial sediments; 6: fault
trace, broken where uncertain.
Abbreviations: T, fault trench;
FS, fault scarp; SP. sag pond; TF.
triangular facet.

fluvial basin fill overlies pre-Tertiary rocks, and the tectonic sequences and is at least several hundred
modem basin floor lies more than 2 km below the meters thick (Schubert, 1992); it has been trans-
surrounding mountain ranges (Schubert, 1984). The ported into the basin from both flanks. The modem
fluvial basin fill can be divided into four climatic- drainage is primarily axial to the west-southwest.

Stepover Basins
The geometric patterns, structural axes, and depocen-
ters of stepover basins depend on the spacing between
overstepping or en-echelon strike-slip faults, the
amount of overlap between the faults, and the depth
to basement (Rodgers, 1980). Where basement is shal-
low, small subbasins develop. Where basement is deep,
a single, central basin may form where the overlap is
slight; with increasing overlap, two or more subbasins
may form. Several individual basins between overstep-
ping strike-slip faults may coalesce into a single, larger
basin, such as Binchuan basin in Yunnan province of
southern China (Deng et a!., 1986).
North China Basin
The North China basin is a large (-2 x 105 km2)
strike-slip basin that formed transtensionally in an
intracratonic setting at an overstep in a large-scale
MFS
.....----...-
D mmJ- CRUSTAL EXTENSION
D CRUSTAL COMPRESSION
I STRIKE-SLIP FAULTING
J NORMAL FAULTING
'-----' ] THRUST FAULTING
MFS MFS MASTER FAULT SYSTEM
Fig. 1Z.l3 Idealized sketch of postulated process of formation of North
China basin (Reproduced with permission from Nabelek et al .. 1987).
Basic geometry of basin is repeated on several scales within basin.
Regions of uplift are present locally, either as a result of small bends
along strike-slip faults or due to interaction between neighboring strike-
slip faults. Complex block rotations may have also occurred. East-west
width of North China basin is approximately 600 km.
Strike-Slip Basins 441
right-slip system of nonparallel, right-stepping,
northeast-striking faults (Nabelek et a!., 1987; Chen
and Nabelek, 1988). Localized and rapid post-mid-
Pliocene subsidence resulted from right slip on the
master bounding faults, as well as interplay of
numerous other types of faults of different scales in
the interior of the basin (Fig. 12.13).
The basin began to form in early to middle Eocene
time. Several fault sets divide the extensively frac-
tured underlying basement rocks into rhombic and
triangular blocks; these pre-existing faults strongly
influenced the locus and sequence of numerous large
earthquakes along the north margin of the basin in
1978 (Nabelek eta!., 1987).
Three major earthquakes occurred in the 1978
Tangshan sequence. The epicenter of the main earth-
quake was at the junction of two strike-slip faults, a
northnortheast-striking right-slip fault and an east-
northeast-striking left-slip fault having a significant
component of thrusting. One of the two strongest
aftershocks occurred at the northeast end of the main
fault in a right stepover in the northnortheast-
striking fault system; its nodal planes strike east-west,
its focal mechanism was almost purely normal, and
almost 1 m of subsidence occurred here during the
earthquake. The earthquake sequence demonstrated
that pull-apart subsidence caused by large faults can
overprint displacements on smaller ones, producing
subsidence on a regional scale.
Dead Sea Basin
The Dead Sea basin is a large (132 x 16 km) and
deep (8-10 km) symmetric graben (Fig. 2.14A)
formed by divergent left slip along an active fault
system that extends from the Gulf of Aqaba to
southeastern Turkey (ten Brink and Ben-Avraham,
1989). The basin is located along the transform plate
boundary that separates Arabia from Africa, and it
opened in response to Miocene differential exten-
sion between the Gulf of Suez and the northern Red
Sea. The total of about 105 km of left slip along the
Dead Sea transform probably started in middle
Miocene time ( 15.5-11.5 Ma); slip of only 30 km
has occurred in the last 5 my, implying a low rela-
tive plate velocity (6 mm/y) between Arabia and
Africa.
442 Chapter 12

Pig. 12.14 Geologic seuing of Dead Sea basin. A) Geologic map of Dead
Sea-Arava depression, illustrallng tectonic elemems. physiographic fea ·
tures. nonbward migration of depocenter. and basin asymmetry expressed
by bathymetry (Reproduced with pennission from Marupeil.er, 1985).
Early Miocene (25-14 Ma) suike slip of about 60-65 km opened Arava
basin that filled with about 2 km of red beds during a pause In strike-slip
displacement. Later displacement in last 4.5 my allowed deposition of
more than 4 km of marine to lacustrine rock salt of the Sedom Formation,
overlain by 3.5 km of lacuslline evaporitic carbonate and clasllc sedlmen·
tary strata. 8) Scht!matlc block diagram of Dead Sea region, viewed to
nonh. with generaliud rift physiography. tl!ctonlc framework and deposi·
tiona! domains (Reproduced with permission from Marupelzer, 1985).
Bedrock of dillerent ages on rift shoulders, basin bathymetry and eastward
thickening of strata IUustrate ti!Cionic asymmetry.

(Pig. 12.14B). The basin is bounded longitudinally by

an overstepping pair of vertical left-slip faults, and
transversely by several sharply defined faults that
structurally separate the basin into several 20 to 30 krn
segments (Pig. 12.14A). Deformation occurs mostly
along the strike-slip faults, whose surface traces extend

I .....
~RA8£N
discontinuously along the length of the basin, and to a
lesser degree on transverse faults. The intervening sed-
imentary strata are relatively undeformed due partly
to the presence of a salt layer beneath much of the
basin that decouples the sedimentary fill from the
basement (ten Brink and Ben-Avraham, 1989).
Sediment accumulation and subsidence rates of the
Dead Sea basin are high, with more than 7 krn of upper
Cenozoic marine, lacustrine, evaporite and fluvial-
deltaic deposits (Manspeizer, 1985; ten Brink and Ben-
N
Avraham, 1989). Subsidence of the Dead Sea basin
probably began in Pliocene time, when much of the

f evaporitic succession was deposited, together with local

marine strata. Subsidence accelerated in Pleistocene
RIFT BASIN
time when several kilometers of lacustrine, fluvial and
RIFT SHOULDERS other terrestrial sediments accumulated. The depocen-
SALT DIAPIR ter has migrated northward. accompanied by diapiric
NORMAL FAULT intrusion of evaporites, generating an asymmetric basin
~ I STRII(E · SLIP FAULT with extraordinarily abrupt fades changes.
~"
.)l i BATHYMETRY (MolrHI
The basin is narrowest and shallowest toward its
~ 1::: northern and southern ends, and widest and deepest
~ IJ
'I'
/f in the central part. Gravity data suggest that the basin
[!
/"f sags toward its center and Jacks northern and south-
ern boundary faults (ten Brink et al., in press). The
basin formed and continues to form by crustal exten-
sion along its long axis (Pig. 12.14B); maximum
The shallow basement rocks consist of massive and extension is concentrated in the central part, where it
rigid crystalline plutonic and metamorphic rocks that widens by passive collapse of its flanks between the
are overlain by a thin cover of sedimentary strata two overstepping strike-slip faults that bound the
 Strike-Slip Basins 443

......, ~ ~___:)
r r ~ r1
) >
~ :(: (
)
~ 'I )

basin. The basin lengthened northward by simulta- Transrotational Basins

neous northward propagation of the southern strand
Fault-bounded transrotational basins develop between
of the Dead Sea fault and a retardation of the north-
blocks that rotate differentially in a shear zone rather
em strand (ten Brink and Ben-Avraham, 1989; ten
than along a single fault strand (Fig. 12.3C). Rotation
Brink et al., in press).
of blocks about vertical or subvertical axes yields
prominent triangular or rhomb-shaped basins that
may be quite large in very wide zones of distributed

0 IOOkm
approx.

Fig. U.lS Rotation model for southern California. See Luyendyk and occurred mainly during Middle Miocene. Sinistral and dextral slip has
Hornaflus ( 1987) for discussion and details of faults used in model. occurred, and deltoid basins have opened at joins of rotated and
A) Inferred initial fracture pattern and prerotatlon geometry during unrotated blocks. (Reproduced with permission from Luyendyk and
Oligocene. B) Late Miocene geometry after clockwise rotation, which Homaflus, 1987.)
444 Chapter 12

Fig. 12.16 Generalized struc·

-·-· tural map (A) and regional cross

sections (B) of Los Angeles
basin. Abbreviations: M, upper
and upper· middle Miocene; P,
Pliocene; Q, Quaternary; an,
Anaheim nose. Vertical scale of
(B) is in kilo feet. (Reproduced
with permission from Wright,
'1987.)

STRUCTURAL FEATURES
OF THE
LOS ANGELES BASIN
(Present Day)

--10-- CONTOURS on TOP of MIOCENE

(5000FI INTERVAL)
0 OIL FIELD
·.

I I
NEWPORT-INGLEWOOD
~ 011 Production
0 5MIIn
FAULT ZONE
I I

shear, such as the rhomb-shaped Bir Zreir graben in
eastern Sinai, formed by rotation and consequent
subsidence between two bent strike-slip faults of the
Dead Sea Rift zone (Eyal and Eyal, 1_986). Several
southern California Neogene basins appear to have
formed during clockwise rotation of as much as 90"
during Neogene time near the margins of the east-
trending Transverse Ranges and in the Mojave Desert
(Fig. 12.15) (Luyendyk and Hornafius, 1987;
Luyendyk, 1989).

Los Angeles Basin, Southern California
The Los Angeles basin (Fig. 12.16) is regarded by some
writers as a transrotational basin, formed by differential
clockwise rotation of blocks in a wide zone of right sim-
ple shear (Luyendyk et al., 1980, 1985; McKenzie and
Jackson, 1986; Luyendyk and Homafius, 1987; Luyen-
dyk, 1991). Other writers (Crouch and Suppe, 1993)
have proposed that it formed by large-magnitude crustal
extension in early Miocene time (25-22 Ma), and after
its Miocene and Pliocene sedimentary succession accu-
mulated during rapid rifting from 16 to 5 Ma, it was
deformed by late Pliocene and younger right-slip faults.
The roughly triangular basin is approximately 40
km wide and 60 km long (Fig. 12.16A). It consists of
several triangular sub-blocks and basins bounded by
fault zones that also control the main hydrocarbon-
bearing structural traps in the basin. Many of the
faults are active, judging from historic earthquakes, as
well as from abundant geologic evidence of recent
deformation. Along its north flank, a series of north-
dipping Quaternary thrust faults carries crystalline
basement of the Transverse Ranges southward over
the basin (Dibblee, 1982; U.S. Geological Survey,
1987). The east and southeast flanks of the basin con-
sist of a faulted shelf of deformed Upper Cretaceous
and lower Tertiary strata that rest on Mesozoic sialic
basement overlain by Oligocene, Miocene and
Pliocene sedimentary rocks, some of which are
faulted and intruded by Miocene igneous rocks. The
Elsinore-Whittier right-slip fault system extends
northwestward from the Peninsular Ranges into the
eastern part of the Los Angeles basin, where it must
intersect somehow in the subsurface with the north-
em basin-margin thrust faults. The southwest side of
the basin is bounded by the northwest-striking
Newport-Inglewood fault zone. Crouch and Suppe
(1993) suggested that the Newport-Inglewood fault
zone was the locus of the main extensional break-
away for the Early Miocene rifting that formed the
basin. Interpretations of geologic, seismic and seis-
mic-reflection data indicate that the entire basin is
underlain by an active, blind, south-dipping regional
decollement, which with its imbricate thrusts, ramps
and folds, has accommodated 15 to 30 km of north-
south shortening in the last 2 to 4 my (Davis and
Namson, 1989). Many modem topographic highs and
Strike-Slip Basins 445
lows in the-basin correspond to structural highs and
lows, and, together with deep thrust earthquakes,
attest to continuing deformation.
The Tertiary sedimentary succession in the Los
Angeles basin is dominated by Neogene deep-marine
turbidites and hemipelagic units that contain the
greatest concentration of petroleum per unit area of
any basin in the world (Biddle, 1991 ). Miocene strata
include organic-rich, siliceous shale of the Monterey
Formation and related units, which are the primary
source rocks. Miocene volcanic rocks are present at
depth nearly everywhere in the central part of the
Los Angeles basin, but crop out only locally along its
edges. This implies that magma intruded in response
to cracking of the crust and opening of the basin, and
it rose nearly hydrostatically to a compensating level
within the sedimentary fill (Wright, 1991 ). Some of
the volcanic rock units are also rotated clockwise,
based on interpretations of paleomagnetic vectors
(Homafius et al., 1986), supporting the conclusion
that transrotational deformation, in part, followed
Early Miocene formation of the basin by rifting and
detachment faulting (Crouch and Suppe, 1993).
Thick strata consisting of thin-bedded Pliocene
marine turbidites, derived largely from sources north
and east of the basin, are the principal reservoir rocks
for petroleum. The Pliocene and Quaternary clastic
marine and nonmarine strata in the central part of
the basin are nearly 4 km thick, based on drilling and
seismic-reflection studies (Blake, 1991; Mayer, 1991;
Wright, 1991) (Fig. 12.16B).
Mid-Pliocene (younger than 5 Ma) transpression
may have caused the Newport-Inglewood fault zone
to be reactivated as a right-slip fault (Crouch and
Suppe, 1993 ). On the sea floor above the fault, right-
stepping, en-echelon, anticlinal hills formed (Yeats,
1973) that guided turbidity currents down the axes of
synclinal troughs. Continued folding of the anticlines
tilted the edges of the sand-filled synclines and
formed some oil traps (Harding, 1973 ). Extensive
folding and faulting also generated abundant struc-
tural traps in and along the margins of the basin
(Wright, 1991). Now the basin is filled so that alluvial
fans stretch from the bounding mountains to the
north across the basin almost to the sea, and surface
streams carry sedimentary debris to offshore basins.
446 Chapter 12
Many modern topographic highs and lows corre-
spond to structural highs and lows, attesting to the
recency of deformation.
Mojave Desert Basins, Southern California
The Mojave region experienced a major episode of
uplift, extensional rifting, and detachment faulting
during Early Miocene time, followed by regional.
northwest-southeast simple shear that caused irregu-
larly shaped blocks to rotate differentially about sub-
vertical axes (Dokka and Travis, 1990). Several basins
formed between misfit areas among the faulted
pieces, edges and corners of the rotated blocks. More
than 1000 m of Miocene and Pliocene alluvial. flu-
vial. lacustrine, volcaniclastic and evaporite deposits
accumulated in the largest of the basins, the Barstow
basin, which is 100 km long and 20 km wide (Link,
1980; Woodburne et al., 1990). These deposits are
moderately folded and faulted, but little rotated
(MacFadden et al., 1990). Early Middle Miocene
evaporite deposits in Kramer basin (Dibblee, 1980)
contain 100 m of sodium borate (borax), one of the
largest deposits in the world. It was deposited mostly
from hot springs into an ephemeral playa lake
(Siefke, 1980) that formed along a minor right-slip
fault (Dibblee, 1967).
Transpressional Basins
Narrow basins that are marginal to transpressional
prindpal displacement zones or positive flower struc-
tures may result from flexural subsidence induced by
loading from branching reverse faults. This flexurally
induced subsidence is similar to the mechanisms of
foreland-basin development, and these marginal
strike-slip basins are, in fact, miniforeland basins that
may be overidden by advandng allochthons. Small
piggy-back basins are also common in these settings
(e.g., Namson and Davis, 1988). Rapid sedimentation
in transpressional basins induces additional subsi-
dence by sediment loading.
Sediments deposited in transpressional basins in
deep-marine settings along transform faults may con-
sist mostly of pelagic or hemipelagic mudstone with
some proximal landslide, debris-flow, volcaniclastic or
7
talus deposits. Where deep-marine tr;mspressional
basins are situated close to larger landmasses, thick
turbidite successions may be deposited. In nonmarine
settings, alluvial-fan, lacustrine, fan-delta, delta, fluvio-
deltaic and turbidite facies are most common. Most
sediment is derived from the adjacent transpressional
uplift blocks, but sediment may also be derived from
more distal sources.
In more complex transpressional regimes, marked
by multiple faults, fault strands and interfault basins,
transpressional basins may originate from synclinal
downfolding or fault-dominated subsidence marginal
to reverse faults. These types of transpressional basins
have more complex patterns of sedimentation and
structural evolution. Individual transpressional basins
may have multiple sources of sediment; longitudinal.
rather than transverse sediment transport directions,
may predominate. We discuss two California basins as
examples of transpressional basins, the Ventura and
San Joaquin basins. It is clear, however, that both
basins have had long and complex histories and
should be grouped with polyhistory basins. Here, we
focus only on their last stages of evolution, which
have been transpressional.
Ventura Basin, Southern California
The Ventura basin of southern California is located in
the southwestern part of the Transverse Ranges
province (Fig. 12.17) (Crowell, 1976) . The west-
trending and west-plunging narrow basin developed
in Early Miocene time (about 22 Ma) in response to
90" clockwise rotation of the Transverse Ranges
province (Luyendyk et al., 1980, 1985; Luyendyk,
1989). Although early evolution of the basin was
transtensional or transrotational. its later history has
been dominated by transpression (Crowell, 1976). As
the province underwent rotation, extensive left-
lateral faults sliced the block into a series of sub-
blocks, some of which underwent uplift, and others
of which underwent subsidence in response to rota-
tion-induced shear.
Like the nearby Los Angeles basin, deposition
commenced in Miocene time (14-6 Ma) with
diatomaceous and phosphatic mud (now the Mon-
terey Formation) in protected and moderately deep
water. These deposits lapped across a subsea shoulder
or ridge with seaknolls on it that was uplifted into an
 Strike-Slip Basins 447

Fig. ll.l7 Generalized map,

cross section and depositional
model of Ventura basin,
California. A) Fades distribution
of Pliocene and Pleistocene
deep-sea sedimentary rocks
(modified from Hsii et al.,
1980); B) Structure section B-B'
(from Nagle and Parker, 1971 );
C) Process model of turbidity-
current deposition in deep-sea
basin of Ventura type (modified
34" 15' from Hsii et al., 1980).

-- 119' 15'
0
kilometers

2 3 4 5

U~U Mudstone facies ~ Conglomerate facies

D Thin-bedded sand facies ~ Eroded slope
[2] Graded sand facies
TOPATOPA UPLIFT SANTA CLARA OXNARD SHELF
NONTHEAST TROUGH SOUTHEAST

8 8'

'-------------·-
VENTURA BASIN MODEL

SEALEVEL

!
Matera 305 1000 Feet
610 2000
915 3000
1220 4000
0 16 32 Kilometers

0 10 20 Miles
448 Chapter 12
antiformal arch along the length of the basin. Major
subsidence occurred in Early Pliocene time, and one
of the thickest Pliocene bathyal marine sequences
in the world was deposited, with sedimentation rates
exceeding 2 mm/y. Locally, basin inversion has oc-
curred during the past one-half million years.
The thick Pliocene deposits consist of sandy silici-
clastic turbidites transported axially down the basin
from basement source areas more than 50 km to the
east (Hsii, 1977; Hsii et al., 1980). These deposits
form spectacular petroleum reservoirs in prolific oil
fields along the axes of inversion anticlines. Coarser-
grained submarine debris flows were shed into the
basin from the subparallel north and south flanks of
the basin. Basin inversion also caused uplift of older
rocks along basinward directed reverse faults along
the north and south flanks of the basin (Fig. 12.17B).
The entire western Transverse Ranges province has
been interpreted as a fold-and-thrust belt by some
workers (Namson and Davis, 1988). The abundant
left-lateral faults, rotation history, and spatial associa-
tion of the basin with the San Andreas fault suggest
to us that it forms a type of fold-and-thrust belt
within a wide zone of transpressional deformation.
The Pliocene to Holocene Ventura basin formed
within this zone as a complex transpressional basin
characterized by rapid subsidence and high rates of
sedimentation typical of strike-slip basins.
San Joaquin Basin, Central California
The late Cenozoic San Joaquin basin in central Califor-
nia (Bartow, 1991) developed in the southern part of
the Great Valley, a forearc basin that originated in
Mesozoic time as a result of lithospheric plate conver-
gence (see Chapter 6). The San Joaquin basin is a deep
(12 km), irregular-shaped basin that began to subside
rapidly in Late Oligocene and Early Miocene time in
response to transpression extension (Goodman and
Malin, 1992). Subsequent middle Miocene to Holocene
subsidence and basin-margin uplift have been partly in
response to associated with the San Andreas fault
(Wilcox et al., 1973). Subsidence increased at about 16
Ma, with deposition of phosphatic shale and diatoma-
ceous strata, the principal source rocks for petroleum.
The southern and southwestern flanks of the San
Joaquin basin are bounded by transpressional regions
of the San Andreas fault (Fig. 12.18; Wilcox et al.,
1973; Harding, 1976). The San Emigdio Range and
Tehachapi Mountains along the south flank of the
basin are being thrust northward over the basin along
the Pleito thrust and along several buried thrusts. The
Temblor Range along the southwestern flank is being
thrust northeastward over the basin along mostly
buried thrust faults (Webb, 1981; Namson and Davis,
1988; Medwedeff, 1989; Ryder and Thomson, 1989).
Marginal to the thrusts is a series of recent lacustrine
basins, including, from southeast to northwest, Kern,
Buena Vista, and Tulare lakes.
Structural mapping of basinwide lacustrine and
volcanic ash units within the Tulare Formation, a
widespread and thick Pliocene to Holocene siliciclastic
unit in the San Joaquin Valley and surrounding San
Emigdio and Temblor Ranges, reveals that these units
have been structurally and topographically depressed
adjacent to the allochthonous masses. The lacustrine
transpressional basins form mini-foreland basins
depressed by structural loading and resultant flexural
bending. Some workers attribute the convergent
foldthrust belt entirely to thrust tectonics (Namson
and Davis, 1988; Medwedeff, 1990). Together with
Harding ( 1973 ), however, we maintain that the
transpressional setting is a consequence of partitioned
convergent strike slip.
The San Joaquin basin originally opened westward
toward the Pacific Ocean in early Miocene time (20 to
16 Ma); it was subsequently truncated, probably
rotated and offset about 300 km by the San Andreas
fault. The offset western part of the Early Miocene
basin lies in the Santa Cruz Mountains (Bartow, 1991 ).
During Miocene time ( 12-7 Ma), the block southwest
of the San Andreas fault was uplifted and provided
detritus to fan deltas and turbidite systems into the
deep basin (Ryder and Thomson, 1989; Fig. 12.18).
Prior to that, most of the sediment came into the basin
through submarine canyons from the Sierra Nevada
region to the east and flowed northward down the
axis of this mid-Miocene trough. At the same time,
however, en-echelon folds were growing and forming
submarine hills along the west edge of the basin, partly
as a result of shear along the San Andreas fault. The
growing folds focused turbidity currents along syncli-
nal valleys and through saddles to basin plains. The

basin became isolated from the Pacific at the beginning
of the Pliocene and has filled with nonmarine deposits
of Pliocene and Quaternary age.
About 4 Ma, motion along the San Andreas trans-
form changed from predominately transtensional to
transpressional. The consequent shortening caused
blind thrusts to develop along the west edge of the
basin, further deforming the early en-echelon anti-
clines. The thrust faults and anticlines are active today.
Polygenetic Basins
In divergent settings, strike-slip basins may develop
along transfer or accommodation zones that link
major loci of normal faults. They may also form along
the flanks of individual detached crustal segments,
especially in horseshoe faults, where low-angle
strike-slip faults mark the margins of detached seg-
ments (Fig. 12.3E). In convergent settings, strike-slip
basins develop along transfer zones that link intact
individual segments of larger thrust or underthrust
crustal segments (Fig. 12.3E).
Death Valley Basin, Eastern California
Death Valley is a north-trending, asymmetric half
graben that has formed as a result of regional exten-
sion (Fig. 12.19). Although extension commenced
about 15 Ma, the present physiography of the valley
has developed in the last 4 my. The east side of the
half graben is bounded by a major range-front fault
zone with oblique normal slip, the Black Mountains
fault zone. Structural relief exceeds 6,000 m across
the Black Mountains fault zone, as measured from
the base of the sedimentary section in the deepest
part of the half graben to the top of basement rocks
in the adjacent bounding mountain range to the east.
Alluvial, fluvial, and lacustrine sediments exceed
3000 m in thickness on the east side of the basin next
to the Black Mountains fault, and thin westward to
less than a few-hundred meters. Some sediment is
derived from the bounding mountains and trans-
ported into the half graben as debris-flow-dominated
alluvial fans that are small and steep on the east side,
and by larger, gentler-sloping and regionally exten-
sive stream-flow-dominated fans on the west side
(see also Fig. 3.32). The axial and ephemeral Amar-
gosa River transports northward-fining sediment into
Strike-Slip Basins 449
the valley from a larger area surrounding Death Val-
ley. Evaporitic playa deposits and wind-blown dune
fields are also present in the axial parts of the valley
(close to the east side).
Northwest-striking right-slip faults at the north
and south ends of central Death Valley are tear faults
or transfer faults that separate the half graben from
differentially extending tracts to the north and south
(Burchfiel and Stewart, 1966). At the north end, the
Furnace Creek fault extends southeastward across the
north end of the valley to the Black Mountains fault
zone. At the south end, the Death Valley fault zone
extends northwest, cutting the southern end of the
Black Mountains fault zone and the southern end of
the graben, there bending northward into minor nor-
mal faults along the west edge of the valley. The
amount of displacement is about 25 km along both of
these fault zones.
In addition to being a pull-apart between two
fault systems, as proposed originally by Burchfiel
and Stewart ( 1966), Death Valley has been inter-
preted as one of several half grabens that developed
locally in a regionally extended crustal slab (Wer-
nicke, 1985; Wernicke et al., 1988; Hodges et al.,
1989). The graben formed as the hanging wall
extended northwestward, parallel to the strike-slip
transfer faults that accommodate or transfer the ex-
tension from one half graben to another (Burchfiel
et al., 1987).
Vienna Basin, Austria
The Vienna basin, one of several Miocene basins in
the Carpathian Mountains of Austria and Czechoslo-
vakia, is a rhombohedral basin along an active left-
stepping, left-lateral tear fault between two thrust
blocks of the Carpathian thrust belt (Fig. 12.20).
The basin is about 200 km long and 60 km wide. It
is filled with Miocene shallow-marine to locally
brackish clastic strata (as thick as 6 km) that were
deposited during two episodes of basin subsidence;
Pliocene and Quaternary fluvial deposits, as thick as
200m, cap the Miocene sequence (Royden, 1985).
Three overstepping and northeast-striking left-slip
faults controlled the early and late episodes of devel-
opment of the two rhombohedral subbasins that
make up the Vienna basin. The northernmost fault
has accumulated about 80 km of Cenozoic left slip.
450 Chapter 12

I/ 1 ' Sahntan
1 •· basement

/
I
' '__..,
I /
/ I
I I
/..--_/I
~'
I
/ ,_
\ I
\
-
f Franc•scan ~
I ~ / --t I t
) I assemblage ~ f
I I 1/ ....- - basement 1l
I ! j I \
1,..... -
\I ( l I
/ \ I \
I l l \
-,..' /
t l I ~
\ \
l l \ I I
ANDREAS) l ~
FAULT
)

Fig. IZ.l8 Schematic reconstruction of depositional enVironments, Formation, southern San Joaquin basin, California. Water depth is
depositional processes and paleotectonic setting of Santa Margarita greatly exaggerated to allow depiction of fan deltas and submarine fans.
 Strike-Slip Basins 451

METERS /

WATER
DEPTH

Numerals: 1) subaerial debris-flow deposit; 2) subaqueous debris-flow avalanche deposit. (Reproduced with permission from Ryder and
deposit; 3) high-concentration turbidity-current deposit; and 4) debris- Thomson, 1989.)
452 Chapter 12

Left-slip faults developed contemporaneously with

thin-skinned thrusts (Royden, 1985). The Vienna
basin is confined entirely to the allochthon and
formed along a releasing bend; therefore, in this type
of polygenetic basin, mantle was not involved and a
thermal anomaly is not present beneath the basin.

Polyhistory Basins
Polyhistory basins have complex structural patterns
that result from alternating episodes of strike-slip,
compressional. and extensional faulting. These basins
commonly form in areas of changing plate-tectonic
0 50 100km framework. They may develop as polygenetic basins
I I I
approlllmalt..,. along thrust, sheet boundaries in collisional orogens
that are later modified by post-collisional extensional
Fig. ll-19 Diagrammatic sketch map of Death Valley •pull-apart.• faults; in this type of setting, strike-slip basins along
(Modified from Burchflel and S1ewart, 1966.) tear faults confined to the upper plate of thrust sheets
EUROPEAN may undergo reversal of movement along tear faults
PLATFORM----------------------, during subsequent extensional faulting. Some col-
lapse basins, such as the strike-slip-bounded, Devo-
nian Hornelen basin of western Norway (Steel and
Gloppen, 1980), may have resulted from this process.
,
- , FIXED Bowser Basin, Western Canada
The northwestern part of the North American
Cordillera contains Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic
"successor.. basins that record complex tectonic and
depositional adjustments to the accretion and juxtapo-
sition of tectonostratigraphic terranes. The Tyaughton-
Methow, Bowser and Gravina-Nutzotin basins are
three such complex successor basins that developed
along the continental margin in response to accre-
Fig. ll.lO Schematic diagram of opening of Vienna basin as a fault-bend tionary events (Fig. 12.21). Oblique convergence and
basin at a left step in a left-slip tear fault within an allochthon thrust transform motion of oceanic and arc-type lithospheric
northeastward onto the European platform (Reproduced with permis- terranes has generated a Wide region of generally
sion from Royden, 1985).
right-lateral displacement (Eisbacher, 1981, 1985).
The faults are roughly parallel to structural trends in The Bowser basin originally developed in Late
the underlying nappes. Jurassic time above and marginal to the belt of faults
The depocenters of the two episodes of subsidence along which the Stikine terrane accreted to North
do not coindde. Subsidiary synsedimentary faults America. The Stikine terrane, primarily made up of
along the northwest margin of the basin dip 40° to an early Mesozoic calc-alkaline magmatic-arc com-
50° basinward and have several kilometers of normal plex, subsided by Late Jurassic time to form the base-
separation at the surface. The basin fill thickens ment of the Bowser basin. Initially, Bowser basin sed-
northwestward across the basin, and the older strata iments were transported westward into the basin
dip more steeply than the younger. from uplifted, previously accreted terranes to the
-'
 Strike-Slip Basins 453

Fig. lZ.:U Cross sections and

SW
NE map illustrating tectonic
evolution of Bowser basin.
A) Schematic evolution of peri-
collisional clastic basins and
strike-slip faults in a southwest-
northeast transect through
north-central Canadian
Cordillera. Vertical ruling indi-
cates oceanic· type terranes and
ophiolitic melanges (SM. Slide
Mountain terrane; CC. Cache
Creek terrane; BR, Bridge River
terrane; CH, Chugach terrane).
V-pattem indicates island arcs
Late Jurassic and oceanic plateaus (Q, Ques-
nel terrane; St. Stikine terrane;
W-A. Wrangell-Alexander ter-
ran~). NA, North American

Early Jurassic craton. Cretaceous-Paleogene

right slip developed along zones
of complex crustal convergence
characterized by multiple
changes in structural vergence
and subsequent pluton activity.
B) Paleogeographic model of
Middle Jurassic to Early Creta-
ceous setting of clastic basins
near Teslin suture. Diagonal
ruling indicates extent of North
American continental crust
Teslin Suture
----- locally overlapped in west by
ophiolitic thrust masses of clos-
ing Teslin suture, and character-
ized by uplift of metamorphic
core complexes. Accreted ter-
ranes west of thrust belt are
shown approximately 1500 to
2000 km south of their pr~sent
positions with respect to North
America (49th parallel is used as
displaced marker line). Strike-
slip faults and arc polarity west
of marginal Gravina-Nutzotin-
Bowser-Tyaughton-Methow
troughs are speculative. Areas of
volcanic activity and generalized
s~diment disp~rsal depicted by
cones and arrows. respectively.
(Reproduc~d with permission
from Eisbacher. 1985.)

•oo
km
454 Chapter 12
east; more than 3,000 m of mid-Jurassic to Upper Cre-
taceous submarine-fan, slope and fluvial-dominated
deltaic deposits accumulated in the basin. There is
little direct evidence during this early history of the
basin for major strike-slip involvement; basin subsi-
dence and basin-margin uplift appear to have resulted
primarily from convergence.
Later in the Early Cretaceous, however, right-slip
faulting began to dominate. The eastern flank of the
basin underwent uplift and transpression along the
Teslin suture, an active zone of right slip that
widened eastward through time. The eastern Bowser
basin was tectonically reactivated, and 500 to 1000 m
of generally coarse-grained fluvial and lacustrine
strata were deposited unconformably on the older
CALIF0£1NI~ _ -
- - B.o.IA CALIFORNIA
lnferred extent of crystalline basement
---Fault
r/ /l beneath
'-'-'--L---'
- - - Zones of high (greater than 16%) -
gradient on basement depth map
____ Other selected linear features on ~ Seismic zones
basement depth map -. ~
marine fill. Right slip and uplift along the Shakwak
suture on the western flank of the basin resulted in
eastward transport of nonmarine clastic detritus into
the basin. As deformation continued during the Ter-
tiary, the basin narrowed to a trough that filled with
300 to 800 m of uppermost Cretaceous to Eocene
alluvial-fan and fluvial units deposited chiefly by
east-flowing systems.
Although much detailed sedimentologic and strati-
graphic work remains to be done in the basin, the
framework established by Eisbacher (1981, 1985), as
well as by workers in related basins, including the
outboard Queen Charlotte basin, reflects the shifting
influences of convergent and strike-slip tectonics on
depositional systems and basin morphology.
Fig. 12.22 Structural and
tectonic map of Salton Trough.
Seismic zones (stippled) are
spreading centers (B. Brawley;
0 10 20 Kilometers
I I CP. Cerro Prieto) that connect
right-stepping right-slip faults
and are probable locations of
incipient stepover basins in San
Andreas strike-slip system that
trends obliquely up axis of
Salton Trough. Direction of
spreading in each stepover is
indicated by open arrows.
Sediment is carried into basin
by Colorado River and by
ephemeral drainages from sur-
rounding moun tains. (Modified
1
from Fuis and Kohler, 1984.)
-
Cenozoic sedimentary rocks
Pre-Cenozoic crystalline basement

Salton Trough, Southern California
The Salton trough is an active strike-slip basin with
an active oceanic spreading ridge constituting the
southern part of its floor (Fig. 12.22). The trough is
an elongate, northnorthwest-trending sedimentary
basin that has formed adjacent to the southern termi-
nus of the intracontinental San Andreas fault; the
plate boundary passes southeastward across a series
of short spreading ridges and long oceanic transform
faults to the Rivera triple junction and the East Pacific
Rise (see Chapter 2). Many aspects of the basin are
well understood as a result of extensive subsurface
geothermal exploration, frequent and large earth-
quakes, excellent exposures of rocks along both basin
margins, and numerous studies of modern deposi-
tional systems.
Although initial formation of the basin during
Middle Miocene time appears to have been the result
of extensional tectonics related to formation of the
Gulf of California and the Basin and Range (Crowell,
1987), the later and modern history of the basin has
reflected right-slip along the San Andreas fault and
related transform faults to the south. The initial
record of extensional opening is well preserved in
outcrops along the western margin of the trough,
where pre-rift, braided-stream deposits are overlain
in angular unconformity by synrift alluvial-fan, land-
slide-breccia, lacustrine, fluviodeltaic and evaporitic
deposits. The basin in this area appears to have been
a half graben, with its principal north-striking border
fault to the west. Subsequent increased subsidence
allowed the terrestrial succession to be overlain by
widespread shallow- to deep-marine, late synrift or
postrift strata of the Imperial Formation.
During deposition of the Imperial Formation, the
transform boundary jumped eastward into the rift
valley, thus initiating activity along the modern San
Andreas fault. The later history of the basin has been
dominated by strike-slip tectonism associated with
several right-slip faults of the San Andreas system,
including the San Andreas, Imperial, San Jacinto
and Elsinore faults. Coarse-grained and very thick
alluvial-fan deposits grade axially into lacustrine
mud, similar to the modern setting surrounding the
Salton Sea. The later history is dominated by deposi-
Strike-Slip Basins 455
tion of huge- volumes of sediment by the Colorado
River, whose delta separates the south end of the
Salton trough from the north end of the Gulf of Cali-
fornia (Winker and Kidwell, 1986).
The Salton Trough has reached a stage in its tec-
tonic history that involves uplift and arching above
an en-echelon chain of hot mantle domes, judging
from Quaternary volcanism within the trough, high
heat flow, high Bouguer gravity values, and green-
schist-facies metamorphism of Pliocene and Pleis-
tocene sediments at depths reached by geothermal
drill holes (4000-6000 m). These phenomena are
associated with oblique sea-floor spreading and open-
ing of the Gulf of California. Uplift of the mountain-
ous margins may be attributed to thermal expansion
of the lithosphere beneath a region wider than the
Salton trough itself. Oblique stretching of the region
follows the strike of transform faults and agrees with
the plate motion between the Pacific and North
American lithospheric plates. Faults and deformation
patterns outline uplifted blocks and subbasins nested
within the Salton Trough. The subbasins are similar
to those strike-slip basins in the Gulf of California
that have not filled with sediments; orientation of the
small basins relative to the strikes of the major trans-
form faults and the plate boundary suggests that their
direction of stretching corresponds to the direction of
extension in right simple shear (Crowell, 1985).
The Salton Trough reflects the complex evolution
of a polyhistory basin with an initial rift origin, an
irregularly stretched floor, strike slip, development
of en-echelon subbasins, and rerouting of a major
fluvial-dominated delta into the widening trough.
Tectonic mobility of the Salton trough began about 12
Ma and has intensified during the last 5 my. Modern
strike-slip faulting is superposed on Miocene detach-
ment faults which were superposed on Mesozoic and
early Tertiary thrusts.
Conclusions
We have described six major types of strike-slip
basins based on their fault patterns and mechanisms
of formation; however, strike-slip basins constitute
the most complicated of basin types. They form in
diverse tectonic settings, and are deformed and
456 Chapter 12
reformed as fault blocks rise, fall, converge, and
diverge in space and time. Their form, structure,
depositional setting, and history depend upon the
complex interplay of structural, d~positional, climatic,
and paleogeographic factors.
Most long-lived strike-slip basins are polycyclic
and undergo repeated episodes of generally transten-
sive and transpressive subsidence and uplift within
continuing strike-slip settings. Repeated subsidence
and uplift commonly yield complex basins that may
be difficult to reconstruct, however, and each basin
must be evaluated separately.
Laterally displaced source areas, fades, and
depocenters provide general criteria for the recogni-
tion of areas of strike-slip faulting. Complex and
abrupt fades changes within narrow, generally elon-
gate basins characterized by high sedimentation rates,
very thick stratigraphic successions, and abundant
evidence of paleoseismic activity are typical of the fill
of strike-slip basins. Half-graben patterns in transverse
cross sections are common. Coarse-grained debris-
flow-dominated aprons characterize active strike-slip
basin margins, whereas fluvio-deltaic fades character-
ize the opposite margins, and submarine or sublacus-
trine turbidite, fluviodeltaic, eolian and playa-evapor-
ite fades typify axial deposystems. Depocenters
migrate parallel to the most active strike-slip margin,
resulting in accumulation of extraordinarily thick sed-
imentary sections in small basins. Basinwide upward
coarsening sequences record progradational sedimen-
tary systems that result from forced regressions
caused by periodic lowering of base level induced by
tectonism, sea/lake-level changes and climatic
changes.
From our perspective, an understanding of strike-
slip basins is best enhanced by a thorough under-
standing of how other types of basins develop. Strike
slip is a significant component of almost all plate-
bounding and intraplate settings; thus, to a greater or
lesser degree, their understanding helps the under-
standing of all other tectonic settings. Continued fault
displacement and polycyclic episodes of sedimenta-
tion and ·uplift commonly place most long-lived
strike-slip basins in the general category of ucomplex
basins." Their original paleotectonic framework may
be difficult to recognize and restore.
John C. Crowell ( 1987), in characterizing Tertiary
basins in southern California, wrote: ucomplexity is the
hallmark of their tectonic history," and by inference,
their sedimentation history as well. He wrote (p. 240):
Crustal mobility and sedimentation have gone on
together across the whole region, but with belts and
areas where, for a time, either deformation or sedi-
mentation has dominated. Cross sections are bound
to get more complicated at depth, inasmuch as
older beds have been subject to more deformation
than younger. Geologists must abandon simplicity
as a main guiding principle, and expect complexity
instead. Each new bit of information, such as that
obtained from a new drill hole or a new seismic
line, will help in elucidating the history, but it will
also add complexity to the cross section already
drawn. No longer does the Principle of Simplicity,
so aptly exploited in physics, for example, apply
unqualified to our task. We must substitute the
Principle of Complexity: in historical or configura-
tional science, new details add complications.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the editors for helpful reviews of
the manuscript and for their patience and under-
standing. THN thanks Greg Zolnai, consulting geolo-
gist from Pau, France, for helpful discussions. THN
also thanks Elf Aquitaine Production for abruptly ter-
minating his one-year contract, providing him with
the time to complete his part of the manuscript.
Further Reading
Ballance PP, Reading HG (eds), 1980, Sedimentation in oblique-slip mobile
zones: International Assodation of Sedimentologists Spedal Publication
4, 265p.
0
Biddle KT, Christie-Blick N (eds), 1985, Strike-slip defonnation, basin fonna-
tion, and sedimentation: Sodety of Economic Paleontologists and
Mineralogists Spedal Publication 37, 386p.
Christie-Blick N, Biddle KT, 1985, Defonnation and basinfonnation along
strike-slip faults: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists
Special Publication 37, p.l-34.